Somatic Language: What Are Sensations?

Oftentimes, healing can begin with learning to listen to the quiet and true voice of the body. When we talk about somatic therapy, one of the first doorways into healing is learning the language of sensations. Sensations are the language in which the nervous system speaks. Our emotions are usually a mixture of complex sensations that our brain interprets and names “sad”, “angry”, “happy”, “grief”, “connected”, etc. Learning to listen to and become aware of our sensations is the gateway to emotional intelligence and feeling emotionally regulated.

But what are sensations? How can we recognize, name, and utilize them as a deeper way to understand and express ourselves on our healing journey?

What does “somatic” mean?

“Somatic” comes from soma, a Greek word that means body. But in healing work, “somatic” means more than just the physical. It means the body as felt from within. It’s noticing what your body is doing—not just what you see or what someone else tells you, but what’s alive in your skin, muscles, breath, bones, heart, and nerves.

Sensations are tiny signals. They tell us when we feel safe, when we feel threatened, when we long for rest, and inform us when we are carrying old wounds. Sensations tell us what state of the nervous system we are in: Sympathetic (fight or flight), Parasympathetic (Ventral: connected or rest + digest or Dorsal: freeze or fawn). Sensations are also the way we make sense of or interpret our environment and the feelings we experience as a result of what we are experiencing. 

Somatic Experiencing, one of the somatically informed modalities we utilize here, is a way of integrating the body into therapy. SE has a long history of helping clients drop into the language of sensation as a tool to complete protective sequences, digest traumatic activation, and regulate the nervous system.

What are sensations?

Sensations are physical feelings in your body. Some examples of sensations:

• Warm or cold

• Heavy or light

• Tight or relaxed

• Fluttery or still

• Buzzing or quiet

These are not yet emotions. Sensations are what come first. Emotions often grow from sensations. For example:

You feel a tightness in your chest (sensation) → That may escalate to anxiety or fear (emotion).

Sensations are also different from thoughts. A thought is something your mind says:

“I am angry” or “I feel alone.”

A sensation is something you feel physically:

Your chest pounding, your face getting hot, your muscles tensing.

Why are sensations important for trauma healing?

When we experience trauma or long-term stress without adequate intentional recovery, support, orientation back to safety, or “come down”, our body holds onto parts of that experience. 

The mind may try to forget, avoid, or push away, but the body remembers. In The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk or In An Unspoken Voice by Peter Levine, the way the nervous system underpins the sense of self, our emotions, our health, and our relationships to others, you better believe we are going to incorporate the body in the healing process, it is central. 

For example, you might notice:

• Jumpiness or startle reactions

• Body parts that feel numb or disconnected

• Breathing that feels fast or shallow

• Tension that you carry for no obvious reason

Often, we may not even notice the sensations associated with holding trauma physically. They may have first arrived in early childhood or are accompanied by grief, and can be clouded and camouflaged. It may feel normal or not out of the ordinary. It may not yet be safe for you to tune in and listen to the sensations in your body without proper support. This is okay, and it can be very overwhelming to feel something your body has been protecting you from for ages. This is why Somatic therapy is so important and vital for this kind of healing. It is a gentle approach in the sense that we, as somatic therapists, understand the body desires safety and will act in accordance with seeking safety and to protect. 

In Somatic Therapy, the goal is not to overwhelm you with so many new sensations.

The goal is to gently remind the body that it is safe now and that it is okay to slowly allow the integration of those sensations, the feelings, and the trauma to be felt. Somatic therapy helps someone return to the present, in a healing and safe environment, instead of being flooded by or triggered by the past.

Sensations are one of the ways our body speaks to us. If we don’t listen, the body may continue to send signals through various sensations or physical symptoms until we are ready to address them. Somatic therapy “reads” those signals. It gives space for the body to say, “I am overwhelmed,” “I feel unsafe,” or “I need comfort.”

How do we learn to notice sensations?

Most of us were not taught to notice our body signals. We may ignore them, push them away, or label them quickly: “It’s nothing,” “It must be stress,” “I should tough it out.” But unfortunately, this does not actually dismiss the issue but creates an emotional time bomb. It will go off; they will come out in other ways. 

Being Disconnected from our Bodies is Normalized.

Our society often depends on people to disconnect from their body signals to keep afloat. We have to work, we have to go to school, we have to take care of our children, work out, eat healthy, maintain friendships, be a good partner, and have hobbies. It's an impossible standard imposed on us as a whole, and many of us are never allowed the space to look within. 

We may not have the space, time, or support to open old wounds, to grieve, and really feel what is happening and its impact on us. This is the direct opposite of how we and our bodies were designed. Being forced to shut down emotionally in order to continue “carry on” causes many physical sensations and emotional symptoms. In a war-torn country, under oppression, discrimination, or in an abusive situation, this is meant for our survival, and thank goodness our nervous system knows how to do that (functional freeze). However, it is not how we are meant to live all of our days.  

Somatic therapy can actually allow space to feel the pain and begin healing without unraveling entirely.

It can create just enough space to start to re-embody your life and your relationships.

Here are steps to build somatic awareness of the healing sensations in the body:

1. Pause & scan. Take a moment once or twice a day. Sit or lie down. Ask, “What do I notice in my body that feels good right now?”Maybe you feel your feet being supported by the floor. Try to lean into the parts of your body that feel no pain. After eating your favorite meal, lean into the feeling of your stomach feeling satisfied and take it in. We love apps like Insight Timer, Calm, or Headway, as they have many guided body scan meditations. Retraining the nervous system happens in small practices like a simple body scan.

2. Name sensation words. Build a small vocabulary of body feelings: heavy, fluttery, numb, tingling, soft, burning, expansive, etc. Giving a name helps. It turns vague into real. Feel free to reference this list of sensations.

3. Notice neutrals and good sensations. When healing from trauma, we often only notice difficult sensations. Leave that for therapy sessions. Practice noticing when things feel okay or good. A soft belly, relaxed shoulders, warm sun on skin.

4. Track movement. Sensations change. Notice when something shifts—relaxes, softens, intensifies, drifts away. That movement is part of healing.

5. Gentle curiosity, no judgment. Sensations are just sensations. They are not moral failures. If you feel tight, it doesn’t mean you’re weak. If you feel numb, it doesn’t mean you’re broken. If any of this feels overwhelming, stop. Tune into your favorite sitcom or go for a walk. If you are alone and physically overwhelmed and triggered, it can be too much for your system. Find a resource to help you settle and return to a neutral state, and contact a Somatic Therapist before continuing.

Examples of Sensations in Everyday Life:

Situation	Possible Sensations
Waking up in the morning	Maybe warmth in the bed, pressure under your body, heaviness in limbs, or softness in the pillow
Talking to someone you love	Maybe lightness in the chest, flutter in the stomach, cheeks warming
Feeling stressed or worried	Tightness in the jaw, tight belly, faster heartbeat, shallow breathing
After a funny or joyful moment	Warmth, relief, energy in limbs, a smile on your face

Somatic Vocabulary helps can help you feel safer

Having words for what you feel helps you connect with what you need. When you can say, “My chest feels tight,” that lets you pause and consider: do I need rest? Do I need breath? Do I need connection?

Therapists often help clients build this vocabulary. As you get more practiced, your ability to tolerate the harder sensations increases. You may notice things that once overwhelmed you become more manageable.

How sensations lead to deeper healing

When you can notice sensations, name them, track them, something shifts. It’s like tuning into a radio and finally getting clear, instead of static. The healing path often looks like this:

1. Noticing sensation →

2. Creating safety around that sensation →

3. Allowing it just to be (without needing to fix it) →

4. Staying with the sensations until they move or shift →

5. Integrating the experience (emotion, story, wisdom)

Through somatic therapy, with guidance, the nervous system learns over time that not every signal means danger. It learns that it can contain more comfort, more peace, more rest.

What might feel hard about feeling sensations?

This work is gentle, but not always easy. Some things to watch out for:

• Overwhelming sensations (when you notice too much at once)

• Old memories or emotions surfacing unexpectedly

• Wanting to run away or distract when sensations are uncomfortable

You deserve to have support: a therapist who understands somatic work, practices to calm your nervous system, and ways to return to safety (breathing, grounding, touch, or anything that feels soothing). I have to stress this shouldn't be explored for the first time alone. As I mentioned before, the body can be a protector, and it's very important, especially if you have a long history of trauma, to find a professional somatic practitioner to guide you through this process. They will know when it is too much too fast and how to titrate the process in a way that does not cause a complete emotional collapse.

Everyday practices to grow your somatic language

Here are some simple daily tools to become more fluent in your body’s language:

• Body scans: take 3-5 minutes, scanning from your feet to your head, and notice any areas of pleasant sensations. Listen to your body and only look for positive or neutral sensations when not accompanied by a trained professional.

• Mindful pauses: stop during the day, place a hand on your heart or belly, notice what’s alive inside. It may be cliché, but smelling the flowers or stopping to notice a beautiful sunset can be life-giving to a hurried nervous system.

• Movement with awareness: walking, stretching, yoga—move slowly, notice what shifts.

• Sensory check-ins: notice what you feel through smell, touch, sound. For example, warm water, cool breeze, soft fabric.

• Journaling with body words: after noticing a sensation, write a line like “My stomach feels like sea waves,” “My spine is heavy,” “My hands pulse with energy.”

The deeper gift: owning sensation as strength

As you grow your somatic vocabulary, you reclaim your ability to express what's happening inside your body. You learn that it’s not just a place that suffers, but also a sacred place of wisdom, love, truth, and depth. This is healing in its most honest form.

When you can read the signals your body sends, you can make choices: rest when needed, seek safety, connect with what feels good. Your body becomes your guide, not something to hide from. It's a radical thing to let go of the impossible standards our society sets for us and learn how to function in this world while also caring for ourselves. 

Somatic vocabulary & trauma healing in community

You are not alone in this. Many people discover that trauma has silenced their felt sense. In therapy, in community, even with friends who listen deeply, many of us learn how to re-open to sensations safely.

This type of work is especially important for people with CPTSD, anxiety, veterans, or anyone whose nervous system has felt consistently unsafe at some point in their life. Somatic practices don’t erase pain, but they build tolerance for the deeply painful and devastating parts of life. They invite safety back without erasing the experience or pretending it didn't happen.

Somatic language, like Sensations, is the first language of the body.

They are quiet messengers that help us understand what's happening inside us. When we learn to notice them, name them, and stay with them, healing takes a new, digestible form.

Start Somatic Therapy in San Diego, CA

You don’t need to rush this work. You don’t need to get it “right.” What matters is that you start hearing your body’s language: the flutter, the warmth, the weight, the quiet. Healing lives there. 

We have Somatic therapists with openings who work online throughout California and Colorado, and in-person from our San Diego, California office, who are experts in Somatic Therapy in San Diego. If this article pointed out some of the ways you might benefit from this type of healing, don't hesitate to reach out. You can start your therapy journey with Compass Healing Project by following these simple steps:

1. Fill out this inquiry form here to get connected.

2. Meeting with a caring therapist

3.  Find your footing again—without having to leave home.

Other Services Offered at Compass Healing Project

At Compass Healing Project, we take a holistic approach to therapy, using a range of modalities to support various mental health needs. In addition to Somatic Therapy, we offer online ketamine-assisted therapy, EMDR, Clinical Sexology, hypnotherapy, and embodiment practices. Each is tailored to help with anxiety, depression, PTSD, grief, sexuality concerns, and relationship issues. To learn more about our services, visit our blog or connect with our therapists in California and Colorado.